The death toll from a militant hijacking of a train in Pakistan's southwestern mountains has risen to 31 soldiers, staff and civilians, the military said on Friday as it accused India and Afghanistan of backing the insurgents.

A group of militants seized a Peshawar-bound train, igniting a 36-hour hostage crisis, but this attack is part of a decades-long insurgency rooted in the Baloch separatist groups' violent struggle for an independent state.

Pakistan Train Hijack: 155 passengers were rescued after the Jaffar Express was hijacked in Pakistan, 27 Baloch rebels were killed. At the same time, people released from BLA's captivity have told the painful story of the incident.